What Lies Beneath Flowers
by forwarduntovictory
Summary: Aftermath of the series finale. Kuvira and Suyin meet again in prison.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**_ I was severely disappointed with the series finale. Kuvira's ending was rushed at best and I felt as if the writers didn't care at the end with what happened to her. Kuvira could have easily returned to the Earth Empire. So why did she go with the United Republic? She deserved what was coming to her but Kuvira deserved so much more than the ending they gave her. Especially with Suyin._

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><p>There was a quietness that engulfed the cell in its endless depths, bringing forth a sense of unmistakeable despair and sorrow. The cell, a cage would be the correct definition of such a construction, swayed slightly on its suspendors, gently rocking the huddled figure pressed up against the far left corner. Her breathing was ragged in its quiet exhale and sweat wetted the dark locks of hair. Despite the pitiful apperance, the prisoner's brilliant emerald eyes stared at the approaching woman with a look of what could only be described as hope.<p>

"Go." Suyin called out in the silence.

The guards on either side of the metalbender jolted with surprise. "Ma'am?"

"Leave us be. I wish to speak with the prisoner alone."

Suyin watched her flinch at the term but Kuvira said nothing. _The Great Uniter_ had said nothing since her imprisonment, choosing silence as the better alternative in the cold silence. Slowly, hesistantly in all sense of the word, the men did as they were told and filtered out of the only door there was. It was only after they left did Suyin allow herself to examine the tyrant fully.

Gone was the captain, gone was the dictator. Instead, a broken woman sat in the shell of a little girl she once knew. Kuvira's skin was a blanched from lack of sunlight, her hair a tangled mess of long, dirty locks, and her outfit looked as if it was for a person twice her size. She was skinny, unhealthily so that Suyin knew she hadn't been eating. Suyin knew she should feel pity for the shell of a woman suspended in the wooden cage but her mind kept remembering when it had been her in the cage.

"Your trial will take place next week." announced Suyin.

"What is the point of a trial when we already know the outcome?" hoarsely asked Kuvira.

"You would have answered for your crimes earlier if we did not have to oblige by the laws. Consider yourself fortunate."

Kuvira's lips, thin and cracked, twitched into a wry smile. Then, it disappeared as she coughed violently. She used her cuffed hands to cough into as the cage shook softly. "Fortunate." Kuvira said after her bout. "Yes, I guess I am fortunate that the Avatar spared my life when she could have easily killed me."

Green eyes flickered to Suyin before closing.

"I... I know nothing could make up for what I did to you and your family, Suyin, but know that I'm sorry. I... I hope you can forgive me. Maybe not now but someday."

Suyin pursed her lips. The metalbender's eyes narrowed as she stared angrily at the former Earth Empire leader.

"You do not deserve forgiveness." Suyin couldn't help herself as the words spilled from her lips.

It was harsh sounding to her own ears but it wasthe truth nevertheless. Kuvira had destroyed everything, had torn asunder an entire nation and had attempted to kill the Avatar. Forgiveness was not even an idea.

Nevertheless, she watched Kuvira flinch and then sigh. "You're right. I don't deserve it.."

After a while, in which silence was the only course of action, Suyin demanded, "was it worth it?"

"Was what worth it?"

"Sacrificing your family for your twisted ambitions. Betraying Zaofu and the metal clan, hurting Junior and trying to kill us all?" spat Suyin. "Was it worth it?"

"Yes." said Kuvira.

As if she had been slapped, Suyin recoiled.

"If you're asking if I regret leaving Zaofu, I don't. I regret Zaofu betraying me to stay behind its walls, ignorant of the rest of the nation's suffering. I regret not helping enough people who suffered because of people like the Earth Queen and that petty fool Wu. I regret... having to sacrifice Baatar in order to achieve that dream. But I do not regret what I did. I helped people. People who needed my help." explained Kuvira.

"You didn't help people! You let them suffer and die! How many did you kill trying to attack Republic City? You are nothing more than a murderer and a dictator!" snarled Suyin. "I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

It was Kuvira's time to recoil. The hurt in her eyes returned with a vengeance and her mouth gaped as if she wanted to say something more. If possible, Kuvira seemed to retract into herself as she gazed anywhere but at the Beifong matriarch.

"Leave."

"What?"

"I said leave!" cried Kuvira.

"No. You will answer for your crimes!"

Kuvira bitterly laughed, "Just like Baatar? Do you want me to plead and beg your forgiveness, Suyin, so then you can slap me on my wrists like I'm some foolish child, all forgiven. Well, I'm not. I've never been your child and I never will be. Do you realize Baatar designed the mech? Do you realize he helped plan and build every weapon! Did you know that he hated you for being in the shadow of his father? DID YOU KNOW HE WAS READY TO KILL YOU?"

Bristled, Suyin grasped the wooden cell and snarled at the defenseless woman. "You have no right!"

"I HAVE EVERY RIGHT!" The metal and earth in the prison vibrated with the intensity of Kuvira's anger as she visibly shook with tears trailing down her pale face. In a smaller voice, Kuvira brokenly added, "I have every right."

"I loved you like a daughter and you went and betrayed me and brainwashed my son!"

Kuvira laughed once more. "You never loved me. You loved the idea of me. You loved the prospecting of having someone to carry on your legacy. I was just your puppet. What mother forces their child to serve in the guard? What mother forces them to serve instead of sit and eat? I was never part of your family, Suyin. I wasn't adopted, I was bought."

There was a heaviness that settled upon the prison like a thick cloak. Suyin could barely breathe while Kuvira violently coughed. Her words ran wild in the matriach's head. Sure, Suyin had pushed Kuvira into joining the guard but that was due to Kuvira's fierce desire to protect people. She had also forgotten to introduce Kuvira to the Avatar when Korra had first visited. Kuvira was usually guarding the Beifong family during events or dinners but that was because she had been issued into the guard. It had been her duty.

Had Suyin really pushed Kuvira into leaving Zaofu? Was she the reason why Kuvira had gone mad? Of course not. Such a notion was silly. She had taken in Kuvira after her parents had abandoned her. She had nursed the girl's talents. She had treated her like a daughter. Hadn't she?

"If you have nothing more to say, Suyin, then leave. Leave me be." Kuvira's voice brought her back to reality.

With nothing to say, Suyin slowly retreated from the cell. "I hope you get what you deserve."

Kuvira said nothing.

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><p>Suyin sat in her office in Zaofu.<p>

The city had been rebuilt after Kuvira's takeover. Looking at the city, one would not be able to tell that the domes were only a few weeks old and that the people had suffered under militaristic rule. Looking upon her beloved city of Zaofu, Suyin could nearly forget that her prodigy had nearly destroyed everything and everyone she cared for.

But the letter in her hands anchored her to the harsh reality.

The letter itself was innocent in appearance. There were two crinkles where the paper had been folded and the black ink was neat and orderly. It had been handwritten in a stylized script depicting its originsof that of the Avatar's. It was short in content but the marterial brought her into a state of... something. How long she held it in her hands, she did not know. The sun was just beginning to set and it had been sometime after breakfast she had recieved the letter.

Bringing the glass cup to her lips, Suyin downed the remainder of the strongest liquor she owned. Gingerly, as if the letters were to disappear at any moments, Suyin reread the letter.

_Dear Suyin,_

_I know I should tell you this in person but I thought it best you know as soon as possible. Kuvira is dead. Her ribs had not been fixed correctly and she bled to death internally. I'm so sorry, Su. I'll be at Zaofu as soon as possible._

_Korra_

Suyin couldn't stop the tears that fell down her cheeks. Memories of a little girl, all alone in the world, filled her daydreams.

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><p><em>"Look, Su, I did it! I metalbent!"<em>

_Suyin smiled and brought the girl into a large hug. "Yes, yes you did, Kuvira! I'm so proud of you."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** _Disfunctional children do not grow up to be functional adults. Especially ones that are nearly assassinated by their mother figure._

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><p>How long Kuvira sat staring at her old bed, she didn't know. With Zaofu and the Beifong family under her control, The Great Uniter had more than enough time to spare. She knew she should be reviewing her plans for the cesspool that was Republic City but for whatever reason it was, Kuvira was drawn to the simple cot in the former guard barracks.<p>

The bed itself was plain. With four metal legs and a small headboard, it played host to a worn mattress with a green blanket and grey pillow. Logically, she knew it was not her bed anymore. After she left Zaofu, it was most likely given to the next captain of the guard. But for the time being, Kuvira liked to think it was hers.

The only thing that had been hers in wretched city of domes.

"Great Uniter, the rest of the rebels have been rounded up. Should we send them to the re-educational camps?" asked a nameless soldier.

He was one of her top soldiers, a great man in and out of the field of battle and followed her commands to the letter. All of these things should have made her happy but instead it made her unbelieveably mad. The Great Uniter did not get mad. The captain of the guard did not get mad. Kuvira, on the other hand, was able to get mad. She was able to hate this accursed city that had driven her from its walls.

Zaofu had betrayed her.

She had not betrayed Zaofu.

Suyin had been the one to betray her.

"No." answered Kuvira. She turned to face the nameless soldier and peered at his masked face with her disdain concealed expertly. "Send them to Baatar. He'll be needing the help."

The domes of Zaofu were the city's pride. Thus, it was only fitting that it would also be their shame.

"Yes, Great Uniter."

He left her without a word and for Kuvira, it was a moment to breathe. And then, with the crushing weight of the reality in which she had plunged head first into, Kuvira fought back the bitter tears at the sight of the plain, metal bed. Underneath her gloved hands, the bed creaked and groaned as the supports and beams were destroyed from the inside out. The bed collapsed onto the ground in a heap of jade blankets.

She had given her life for this city, for Suyin. How did she repay Kuvira? With assassination.

Suyin would see the errors of her ways even if that meant tearing all of Zaofu down.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I know it has been a while but here is the new update. Kuvira is a complex person but her mind is the ultimate model for a child suffering from emotional detachment disorder or EDD. This is a young Kuvira-fic featuring Suyin. If you want to check out more of my work, original, you can find me on Wattpad under the penname of Trinity3713. Thank you, everyone, for continuing to read these.

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><p>Zaofu was not known for its storms. It was a city of metal and stone, built into the crest of the sturdy mountains and the lush plains. Rain never could make its way past the stony walls or the vastness of the plains. However, in the rare causes such as tonight, the bellowing of thunder dragons rang across the metal city, resounding off the thick domes. The busy streets were empty save for the poor fools who had been caught running home in the storm's wet claws. Drenched to the bone, men, women and children alike, be them benders and non-benders alike, ran as if their lives depended on the speed of their legs through the thick current that was the roads and sidewalks.<p>

Among the city dwellers and foreigners, a young child no more than eight sat huddled against an indent in one of the massive domes of Zaofu. Her rags—for one could not fathom a word other than the one given for such a sorry state of clothes—were waterlogged as was her black locks which clung to her forehead and nape, spilling across her shoulders. With each clash of the mighty dragon Raiden and his eternal foe, the poor girl's face was ignited for a brief moment before being encased once more in the more forgiving shadows. Her face was that of a child who had not seen even a speck of food. Her cheekbones stuck out awkwardly as vivid eyes of a green which rivalled that of the Earth herself blinked away the large droplets of rainwater that trickled down her face. A shiver trembled her tiny body in harmony to the clashing of the sky.

How long she had been in the indent was unknown even to the girl. Her days were filled with the pangs of an unfathomable hunger and longing for someone, anyone, to say, "we found your parents. They'll be here soon," but the words never came. So, huddled in her makeshift cave, the Earth Kingdom girl stayed.

"I'm telling you, Su, it's weird. It wasn't there a week ago." a man said. The voice was swallowed by the storm. To locate the source of the voice was near impossible but the girl drew into herself, digging into the metal dome further until nothing remained of her but the shadows.

"Why do you want to check it out now, Baatar? The children are waiting for us. We should just go home and check it out later." a woman replied. Su was her name if the girl was correct.

The man, Baatar, did not like the answer as he said, "what if this causes further damage, Su? We need to take care of it now before the storm does some serioius damage to the structure. There's no telling what got shoved into it."

"What kind of damage are we talking about?" Su sighed.

"Flooding and rusting. Katara left already so we don't have a waterbender to take care of the mess if the dome does flood."

This seemed to convince Su. "Alright. Let's check it out. Then we'll go straight home to the kids and explain why we're late for the fourth time this week."

The girl, upon hearing this, drew herself into a tight ball and eyed the entrance to her shelter distrustingly. Hopefully, they would just pass over her hiding spot and she could go on in peace. However, fortune never seemed to be in her favor. With the next strike of Raiden, the Zaofu ignited in all its wonderous beauty for only a second. A second was all it took for the couple, Baatar and Su, to see her curled in the center of her hole.

"Oh my god!" cried Su, a dainty hand pressed to her mouth.

The woman and the girl locked eyes and for the briefest of moments, the girl contemplated fleeing. However, the large man stood in her way and the woman was obviously a metalbender judging from her jewelry. Another stroke forced the girl to blink and shy away from Su's stare.

"Are you—where are your parents?" asked Su.

The girl blinked.

"I—" Her voice broke and her throat burned. Tears welled in her eyes. "I don't..."

Su grimaced, shot Baatar a look like the one the girl had seen her parents exchange multiple times, and gently touched the entrance to her shelter. "Did... did you do this?"

Shyly, a hint of trepidation laced within, the girl nodded.

"Oh my god." Su breathed. "This, this is amazing. I can't believe you did this. Most metalbenders can't even do this until they're twenty. What's...what's your name?"

For the girl, it was the chance she was waiting for. The chance to find her parents and to apologize for being a metalbender. Hesistantly, she took Su's outstretched hand and gave a shy smile. Even when the lightning caused her to jump in fright and Su to flinch at the sudden reaction, the girl knew it was now or never.

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><p><em>"You can call me Kuvira."<em>


End file.
